We are excited to announce our two awesome charity partners for Gen Con 2019, Special Olympics Indiana and Game to Grow! We love the dedication and passion each of these organizations put into their work in local and larger communities. As in years past, we will have several opportunities to raise funds at the show—morning dice rolls, the auction, Cardhalla destruction, and more! Read about each of the charities below, and check out gencon.com for further information.

Special Olympics Indiana is a non-profit organization that is a part of the global Special Olympics movement, using sport, health, education, and leadership programs every day around the world to end discrimination against and empower people with intellectual disabilities. Founded in 1969 and celebrating its 50th anniversary next year, Special Olympics Indiana has grown to more than 14,000 athletes and unified partners in virtually every county throughout the state. With the support of nearly 10,000 coaches and volunteers, Special Olympics Indiana provides year-round sports training and competition in more than 20 Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, at no cost to the participants. Learn more by visiting www.soindiana.org.

Game to Grow is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 2017 on the belief that games of all kinds have the power to improve people’s lives. Game to Grow’s weekly therapeutic social skills groups help young people become more confident, creative, and socially capable using tabletop games, most notably Dungeons and Dragons. The founders and lead facilitators Adam Davis and Adam Johns use their years of experience in couple and family therapy, drama therapy, and education to promote social growth among youth in a fun, safe environment. For more information, head over to gametogrow.org.

The holidays are approaching and we have a few gift ideas for you. This 2018 Holiday Catalog will help you find the perfect gift for your friends, family and even yourself. Upper Deck is known for thematic licensed games as well as original titles. Marvel fans will also love Upper Deck’s Gallery Prints and Trading Cards.

Catch everything that you missed on Gen Con’s new premium video channel on The Fantasy Network, featuring dozens of videos from Gen Con 2018—including live gaming with Matt Mercer, interviews with Jordan Weisman, speeches from Peter Adkison and Shanna Germain, and loads of new product demos!

Come for the year-round Gen Con experience, streaming free on iOS, Android, Roku, and Amazon apps or directly in your browser, then stick around for loads of original fantasy series and movies from the Dead Gentlemen, Arrowstorm Entertainment, Zombie Orpheus, The Forge, and many more of your favorite filmmakers.

Seattle, WA. (December 2018)— The Fantasy Network, a joint venture of Arrowstorm Entertainment (The CW’s The Outpost), The Forge Studios (The Rangers), and Zombie Orpheus Entertainment (JourneyQuest) invited their audiences to early access at Gen Con Indy 2018. It is now available to the public.

The Fantasy Network is a freemium SVOD service with a mission to make creator-owned content accessible, shareable, and discoverable across the web, rather than locked behind a paywall. Subscribers receive first access to new releases and to a host of unique features, including the ability to contribute to wikis for each show and to help greenlight new seasons of their favorite shows for production.

The Network is positioned as a global hub for independent fantasy films and series, including syndicated, new, and original content. Each partner has contributed their own libraries of content to the network, including the Mythica series, The Rangers series, and The Gamers. They have licensed award-winning fantasy content from dozens of other independent creators, notably fan favorites Ren: The Girl with the Mark, AFK, and One Hit Die. They also feature a special channel dedicated to original digital programming from Gen Con LLC, the biggest gaming convention in the United States.

“Think of us as your first destination for original Fantasy Content”, says Ron Newcomb, owner of The Forge Studios. The network offers a premium subscription membership, as well as a significant library of free content. As a fan-supported and creator-distributed endeavor, the network not only directs support from subscriptions to the production of new content, but actively runs crowdfunding campaigns for the network’s content providers to empower fans to keep the stories that they love alive. They most recently worked, in parallel with Telus, to renew Canadian comedy One Hit Die for a third season.

But, what else makes them different? They invite content creators and fans to create their own commercial spin-offs in many of the worlds they have brought to life, via their opt-in Shared Cinematic Universe License Agreement (http://scu.la). Third-party films and series created under this license, beginning with the Strowlers Shared Cinematic Universe, will be eligible for distribution and revenue share on the network. Inspired by the Open Gaming License and the Creative Commons phenomenon, the SCULA is a filmmaker-friendly copyright alternative that empowers interconnected global storytelling and cultural exchange.

“Stories want to be free. By enabling storytellers to remix and reimagine the intellectual properties participating in the SCULA, we keep stories alive and relevant, rather than creating copyright orphans. This active and collaborative dialogue empowers fans and creators to set their imaginations free,” says Ben Dobyns of Zombie Orpheus Entertainment and CEO.

The trio of established production companies have each found success in the indie film world and are looking to bring their experience and skills together under one roof for the benefit of all. “We waited around long enough for someone else to do this, it’s now our time,” says Jason Faller of Arrowstorm Entertainment.

The network has launched with the proven streaming platform established by Zombie Orpheus and is now available on many IPTV apps. No matter the device or browser, they want you to have easy access. The Fantasy Network is currently available on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Chrome TV, Roku, and Amazon Fire.

As in many fantasy stories, this is about a journey against the odds. But as fantasy teaches us, we’re stronger together. The Fantasy Network looks forward to inviting more producers, subscribers, and contributors into their active community.

The Fantasy Network, LLC, is a privately-owned, Seattle-based independent film company. It looks to be a one-stop shop for all things fantasy. For more on the network, go to www.TheFantasy.Network.